I’m a big fan of the original Tron film.  I love it, warts and all.  I have since I was a little kid.

I think it’s important to get that out of the way before I attempt in any meaningful fashion to review the film.  And I don’t think that using nostalgia to prop up your enjoyment of this film is a bad thing.

Tron: Legacy is a film that takes place years past the events of the original film.  Kevin Flynn, Jeff Bridges who reprises his role from the original, has vanished from the face of the Earth, leaving his corporate empire in the hands of his essentially orphaned son, Sam (Garret Hedlund).  Circumstances lead Sam back to his father’s old arcade and he gets sucked into the grid, the world of Tron.

A war has been brewing on the grid between Kevin Flynn and his younger doppleganger Clu and Sam has been brought into the grid to turn the scales of the war.

There’s a whole bunch more added to the mythos of Tron that made varying degrees of sense.  Like the new ISO life forms that were created spontaneously inside the grid.  So what if it doesn’t make sense?  It’s called a Macguffin.

There are a lot of ins, a lot of outs, a lot of what-have-you’s revolving around the plot in the film, and it makes a kind of sense, but that’s really not why we’re here to watch this movie.  We’re here for fun performances, beautiful women in Tron gear, kick-ass action, and a 3D landscape to blow our mind.  Sure, this film is some form of masturbation.  But masturbation is fun, so what’s wrong with that?

There is far more to like about this movie than to worry too much about it’s problems, though I can’t imagine anyone who doesn’t have some measure of nostalgia for the original enjoying this film.

I have to address one thing, though.  I heard some people leaving the theatre complaining that Jeff Bridges was just playing “The Dude” from The Big Lebowski, but obviously they hadn’t watched the original Tron film.  He was very much playing Kevin Flynn.  And that’s what I loved most about the movie.  It’s a lot of the same reasons I loved Superman Returns.  Both of those films were love letters to the originals and gave the fans something they wanted.  Sure, there are bigger fans out there than I am, but I enjoyed this immensely.

I’d also like to point out that the women in this film are all incredibly attractive and fun.  Olivia Wilde is worth the price of admission alone.

My biggest complaint?  I wanted to see Tron.  They did a young doppleganger of Tron (Bruce Boxleitner’s character in the grid in the first film) and he was the main enforcer of Clu’s.  There were a couple of great scenes he was in, but it simply wasn’t enough.  One could get the idea that they just didn’t want to take his mask off because it would be as expensive to render him as it would be the film’s villain, but it would have made for a much better and more complete experience.

Bottom line: This film has its faults, many of them, but if you can overlook them with equal parts nostalgia and suspension of disbelief, then you’re going to have one hell of a great time.

Big Shiny Robot! has a weekly column in the Salt Lake City alt-weekly IN Magazine and every week we bring it to you on the site.

If you live in the greater Salt Lake area, you can pick up a copy of IN Magazine up from one of their ubiquitous newsstands, and we would highly suggest that you do.

You can read the online version of the story here.

This week, we urge you to use comic books to RELAX.

This piece originally appeared in The Huffington Post…

Archie Andrews and Reggie Mantle represent one of the most classic rivalries in popular culture — dating back almost seventy years. In issue #616 of Archie Comics, which hits the stands December 22, Archie and Reggie are going head to head as rivals for Student Body President of Riverdale High.

When Archie begins using President Obama in his campaign literature, Reggie fires back and does the same thing with Sarah Palin. The choice is pretty intelligent, Archie’s a regular kid with normal problems and gravitates toward progressives. Reggie is kind of a jerk and too rich for his own good with little to no apathy, making the most sense for the conservative opposite he chooses.

But when the real life Obama and Palin find out about it, they both arrive on the scene to deal with it.

Ultimately, it seems to be leading to a point where Progressives and Conservatives can talk about issues without vitriol or talking points. It’s an admirable thing to show the kids and hopefully one day it can be realized.

To talk about it, I got to ask the Co-CEO of Archie Comics, Jon Goldwater, a few questions:

Well, the first is why did they think it was important to bring Obama and Palin into Riverdale?

Archie and the Riverdale gang have always been a reflection of what is happening in America. Archie’s adventures are happening now, in a world where Obama is president and Sarah Palin is the de facto leader of the Republican Party. Bringing Obama and Palin to Riverdale sprung from a great idea we had and rolled from there. It’s kind of a “What If?”-type story. What if these two people crossed paths in Riverdale and got involved in the election of the President of Riverdale High with Archie, Jughead, Betty and Veronica? It seemed like a no-brainer, and a fun, entertaining piece of storytelling. They’re essential to the story and their presence makes sense — fans will see when they pick up the issue on Dec. 22.

And it seems like the story is going to bring Palin and Obama together on common ground. Is that even possible?

Absolutely, it’s possible. Even people on different ends of the political spectrum have some common ground. At their core, their values, Both Obama and Palin want the same thing: what’s best for America. What better place to find it than Riverdale?

Getting them in the same room to talk about how we can get there is just part of it. Alex Simmons’ story, which is beautifully illustrated by Dan Parent, is very forward-looking while still holding onto the key elements of the best of Archie – our hero is fun and lovable, and his adventures are entertaining and off-the-wall. This time the gang from Riverdale learns a few things from two of the most important political figures in recent memory: President Barack Obama and former Governor Sarah Palin.

What’s the message here?

It’s simple – even people with opposing views can find common ground if they truly want what is best for this country. It’s something everyone can learn from. Archie and his friends have always been about being inclusive, welcoming and positive. This is another step in that direction. If President Obama and Governor Palin want to swing by Riverdale to hash out their differences, it would be a great day for America!

****

And here we have a preview of the story arc, featuring the Archie Comics debut of Barack Obama and Sarah Palin:

Bryan Young is the editor of geek news and review site Big Shiny Robot!

On December 19th, Robot Chicken will premiere their third Star Wars special on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim. This particular special is a little different than other Robot Chicken specials. For one, it’s an hour long, which is unusual for Robot Chicken. For two, there’s a thin narrative line that plays through the special and unifies the episode more than Robot Chicken is used to.

We got to talk about Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode III and other things with show creators Seth Green and Matthew Senreich and so I hope you enjoy the interview:

Big Shiny Robot!: As far as Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode III, what made you guys want to do another one? And this one is an hour long and it tells a continuous story…?

Matthew Senreich: It sort of tells a continuous story. At the same time it involves characters throughout the Star Wars lore. We focus on four main characters: The Emperor, Darth Vader, Boba Fett, and the Stormtrooper.

Seth Green: But the why is really simple. When we were presented with the opportunity to do a first Star Wars special, we didn’t realize it could be anything more than a collection of sketches. When we made the second one, we experimented with telling something a little more long form and going back to a consistent theme throughout sketches in the episode. We focused on the Bounty Hunters and how each one of them got that job, what traps they set for Han Solo, what their reaction was when they found out someone else caught him… That was our first foray in telling our story through sketch format and Matt had always had this idea about telling The Emperor’s story. Telling the story of the story of the Star Wars chronicles, all six stories, start-to-finish, through these characters.

MS: Even though you still have that throughline, you’ll still cut back and forth with regular channel flip format.

SG: Yeah, that’s the format of Robot Chicken. Being able to jump around in the canon.

BSR!: How did you guys come to your interpretation of your greasy, hilarious Papa Palpatine?

SG: You think he’s greasy?

BSR!: A little bit. You know?

SG: We really think of him as a really beleaguered CEO. You think about the people that are the head of major organizations, especially huge corporate conglomerates like the Empire and you would just imagine the types of responsibilities and day to day issues they’d have to deal with. So even though Ted Turner runs this massive company, you don’t know what his behind the scenes dealings are like. And we thought that was a really interesting view. That started with the phone call in collaborative sketch written during our second season and that sort of defined him. We just expanded him from there.

BSR!: So, kind of like, Hitler dealing sewage issues in Vichy…

SG: He would have had to. When you’re dealing with building an army as massive as the Nazi Party, there’s all kinds of things you have to deal with. Who’s making all the uniforms? What’s the fee the tailor is being paid for all the consistent insignia branding? Making sure all the boots are strapped exactly the same? The details that no one thinks about. And all that stuff has to come across his desk at some point.

BSR!: Will the bounty hunters be back?

MS: We don’t do so much with them this time. We do a little with Boba Fett, there’s one party scene…

SG: …But that’s not, really… Listen: We told the Bounty Hunter’s story we thought we told really well. We had other scenes for this special but we had to cut them for time. And it became very lean. We cut about half the content we had to make our 44 minutes.

MS: Boba Fett is one of the four main characters, and maybe some of the other Bounty Hunter’s will pop up…

SG: You’ve got to think of this special more like Crash than Star Wars. Where you’re telling all these simultaneous stories around the same incident. Where you can see their different perspectives on it…?

BSR!: Okay. I can get behind that. Star Wars meets Crash?

<laughter>

BSR!: That’s going to be the one line everyone picks up from this interview: Star Wars meets Crash.

SG: Luckily Crash did very well. So it’s a good touch stone.

BSR!: We hung out quite a bit at a party at Star Wars Celebration V, Matt, and you told me that one of your favorite things was just to challenge and argue with George Lucas.

MS: <laughs> I find it very entertaining. The best line George has ever said to me, very simply, was that it all comes from his head first. You know? I can’t tell him what Star Wars is in a sense, because ultimately he made it up. I can’t argue with that. It’s a smart comment to make.

SG: No matter how we’ve interpreted it, or how logically we give our arguments based on all the fact, at the end of the day he can say, “Nah. That’s not true.” What he says is law. It’s pretty awesome.

BSR!: Does that get frustrating at all?

SG: Not really. I don’t want anybody how to tell me to do my stuff.

MS: The fun side from us is that we can say, “This is what’s funny.”

SG: Which is a completely different conversation. When we’re talking with George about what works creatively, the logic of the Star Wars universe is almost unnecessary. It all comes down to what’s going to be funny. But when we’re talking about midichlorians or the Trade Federation, we don’t have any new information for him.

BSR!: Some of the jokes… Particularly Doctor Ball M.D. he had probably one of the best lines ever, and I loved that moment in Revenge of the Sith, I was so invested that I didn’t care if she died of a broken heart even though it’s a little sappy…

SG: Nobody did. But when it’s over, you’re like, “Wait a second…”

BSR!: When you do stuff like that, do you ever worry George is going to watch it and say, “Maybe these guys are making fun of me. I don’t know if I want to do this.” Do you ever get that worry about what he’ll think?

SG: There’s always that, “Oh my gosh, is he going to take this too seriously?” But he never does. That’s just not who he is. For how seriously he takes all this and for how much of his life is dedicated to it, it is just entertainment. I think he enjoys people getting really emotionally bent out of shape when something is inconsistent and he just laughs. He’s like, “Guys, guys, sci-fi. Relax.”

BSR!: You guys have been able to go back and work with a lot of talent from the classic trilogy. I mean, you’ve got Billy Dee Williams on here… What’s it like working with a guy like that?

SG: Billy Dee is so hard to explain because he’s been a super star for so long and he still has that presence. Everything you know about him walks in the room with him and he’s aware of that. But he’s kind and talented and super-duper funny and at ease with himself. We love working with him, he gives us so much we didn’t expect…

MS: Yeah, his adlibs are some of the best stuff we get.

BSR!: I met him one time and the only thing I had a chance to say to him was, “You’d have made a great Two-Face.”

SG: Awww… Yeah. He should have done that! That was really heartbreaking. When he was Harvey Dent in Tim Burton’s movie, we thought for sure we were gonna get a Billy Dee Two-Face…

BSR!: And he laughs and flashes his grin and says, “Yeah. I would have.”

SG: I would have loved to see that. It’s amazing though. It’s amazing working with all the people who got to make Star Wars. It really is. It’s so fun and it enhances the authenticity of the insane experience we’re in the middle of.

BSR!: You guys work with Star Wars on a daily basis. What’s that moment where you have had where you’re like, “Man… I’m working with Lando or Luke or…”

SG: I’ll tell you and this won’t give anything away. But it’s on the new show where we’re doing creative stuff within the Star Wars Universe. Anytime we name something. Anytime we build something. And then it goes through the series of trademarks and copyright process to clear it and make sure it’s a name or idea we can use. And then you sort of recognize ideas that you’re participating in developing are becoming part of permanent Star Wars canon. That was the moment for me when my head popped.

MS: I still have trouble grasping it. For me, that point where we realized was when someone gave us an Admiral Ackbar cereal box as a promo item.

SG: The UK did a box set and they had a full size box of Admiral Ackbar cereal.

MS: I had that feeling that I couldn’t believe that this was part of Star Wars lore in some capacity.

SG: Because Admiral Ackbar was always such a funny and iconic character but people seem to have taken to our comedic interpretation of him. When we see 501st guys dressed up as Gary the Stormtrooper or Private Perkins… I’ve had a lot of parents tell me they’ve introduced their kids to Star Wars through Robot Chicken and then I say, A) That’s irresponsible, because…how old is your kid because it’s probably not good for them? And B) That’s awesome. Please, please, please, tell your kids about us.

BSR!: And you guys are doing the new Star Wars show… And the age range for who it’s for is still completely fuzzy.

SG: Maybe for everyone else, but when you see it it’s so clear. It’s for everybody.

BSR!: But at the end of the day, it’s Star Wars and there’s going to be toys made and I’m sure there are characters original to you guys and you’ll be able to go to Toys’R’Us and pick up a Star Wars toy–

SG: –That’s what I want. That is a big deal. And here’s a comparative analysis from a personal experience. I had an action figure made of myself for Austin Powers and another one for Buffy the Vampire Slayer. And the moment I got to hold the action figure of myself was kind of an insane culmination of childhood fantasies come true. The difference between holding an action figure of myself and holding a Star Wars action figure that we helped create is inexpressable. It’s so much bigger and so much more intense and so much more like a cyclical culmination of my love of toys for my entire life. First Star Wars figure I held was when I was four years old, and it set me on a path of loving toys and Star Wars for the rest of my life. It’s been heavily influential in everything that I’ve done. So the notion of us going into a store and picking up a Star Wars action figure that we were involved in creating I don’t even know how to calculate that until it happens.

BSR!: I’m not going to ask for any specifics about the new show because I see how well that worked last time. But you guys did say that it would follow the model of The Clone Wars where you guys will have a season in the can before you start looking for a distributor…

SG: That’s just the way George likes to work, he finances all of his productions, he likes to make his projects exactly like he intends them without external influence from a studio that’s paying for it or a distributor that’s going to put promotion behind it. The best way to guarantee his own artistic integrity is to finance it himself. How many we’ll make before we solicit to a distributor? That’s just not up to us.

BSR!: My question was do you think that process will start by the end of 2011?

MS: No idea.

SG: There’s no way to predict. It could be 2015, it could be tomorrow. We just don’t know.

MS: That’s all the business side that we don’t deal with at all.

BSR!: Getting back to Robot Chicken, what are you most excited to show people?

MS: There’s a few sketches that I think will pop. There’s an office sketch that will be the break out.

SG: I think so, too. We peel back the… let’s just leave it at that. There’s bound to be a moment where Luke Skywalker and the Wampa’s paths will cross again. And that’s a moment we wanted to detail.

BSR!: <laughs>  Why is that inevitable?

SG: When you wrong somebody, even by accident, look at people who were held captive by someone, or hurt or beaten or abused by somebody, part of their eventual growth and acceptance of that situation is confronting their tormentor.

MS: And the other one is a Prune Face sketch.

SG: If you want an early tip, buy up the Prune Face action figures now before people realize how awesome that character is.

BSR!: I’ve got an original one.

MS: Keep it.

SG: We’re about to give you a blue-book boost.

BSR!: Which is awesome, but I’m one of those guys who opens all my toys, plays with them, and doesn’t care how much they’re worth.

SG: Me too.

MS: Same.

BSR!: Obviously. You guys make Robot Chicken. You play with all of your toys.

MS: We smash them with hammers.

SG: But there’s going to be a point several years from now where you’ve got that Prune Face sitting on your shelf and some nerdy guy is going to be like, “Aw! You got Prune Face! Awesome!” And I never thought I’d hear those words ever.

BSR!: But I also never thought I’d hear them about Ponda Boba either.

MS: Those sketches are on par with the Ponda Boba sketch.

BSR!: It’s a very keenly written sketch. But really, who cares? What do you guys care if I liked it or not?

MS: No. I think that was the breakout of that special.

SG: I’m glad. I always like when people like our stuff, like our barometer is on point.

BSR!: You guys have your fingers on the pulse of Star Wars fandom…

SG: It’s because we’re the fans. We’re not trying to outsmart them. Or sell things to them. We’re just trying to make things that are good. And we find that most Star Wars fans share that sensibility.

MS: And the other thing about the humour is to not have the Star Wars characters be in the Star Wars universe. I think that’s key to what we do. It’s taking Star Wars characters and having them talk about whether or not they want to eat Cole Slaw.

SG: Let’s be clear about this. When George put Star Wars out, the reason it connected with people wasn’t because it was this fantastic sci-fi. It was a look as if this is the way it is, humans and aliens living together. And it wasn’t some wide-eyed, “Oh my gosh there’s an alien.” Yes there’s an alien. And he has a job. Quite frankly that guys not too nice to deal with because he lies in business or this or that. And so he took these very basic human characteristics and applied them to fantastic characters and situations and gave everybody a different way to look at sci-fi. And we’re just expanding on that in a comedic way. We’re taking these comedic characters who are unabashed in their way of doing things and putting mundane details over it so that they’re even more relatable.

BSR!: Would you guys say that applies to the new show, too?

MS: Uh… Maybe…

SG: Which new show? The Star Wars show? The comedy show?

BSR!: The one no one knows anything about.

<long pause>

Simultaneously: I don’t know.

SG: I wouldn’t know how to categorize it.

MS: <laughs>

BSR!: You guys are way too good at that.

MS: Because we have sniper rifles at our heads.

SG: And here’s what we’ve found. Anything out there, no matter how deflective or ambiguous still gets quoted about this show. And what we’ve noticed even more and either misquote or misinterpret that. What was the best one that happened…? Matt said, “Making this show has been a surreal experience.” You know? Because we’re working with George and Star Wars. And when it came out, we got quoted as saying, “Watching this show will be a surreal experience for the audience.” Which isn’t what we said at all… So we’ve gotten very good at saying as little as possible.

BSR!: Well, I appreciate what little you’ve been able to say. Thanks for your time.

Talking to these guys is almost as fun as watching their show. Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode III premieres on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim on December 19. It airs at 11:30 pm everywhere, though I would advise that you check your local listings for times.  I know that in the Mountain Standard Timezone at least, Adult Swim (and the rest of Cartoon Network’s programming) airs at least an hour later than the rest of the country.

Tomorrow, we’ll be running a complete interview with Matt Senreich and Seth Green about Star Wars Robot Chicken III, but today, we’re doing a tease from the interview with us talking about their impressions of The Clone Wars:

Big Shiny Robot!: I write a lot about The Clone Wars and I didn’t get to talk to you guys at the premiere, what your guys’ impression of the show is…

Matt Senreich: I love The Clone Wars. That show just keeps getting better and better. It all started with that first feature where in my mind I was like, this might not be a show I’d watch, it’s for kids. But it’s gotten to this place where it’s like, “Are kids still watching this?” Because it’s been getting so intense. But I just find it captivating. The visual style is getting better and I think Filoni is doing an amazing job.

Seth Green: I can’t believe that we can be so lucky as to be given this view into the Star Wars universe. And to have it be taken so seriously and with such gravity. I mean, I’ve talked to soldiers in all different aspects of the US military and they really have responded to the depiction to the Clone Troopers and the other side of the Star Wars wars that we’ve never seen. Like what it’s like to be a soldier on the battlefield bred for combat and death. It’s a really intense view. And you see all the things you didn’t have time to explore in the Prequels. And it’s great canon. I love what they’re doing. I love how it’s more like Robotech than any kids cartoon I’ve ever seen. It’s dramatic and heartfelt and scary and fun all at the same time. And it’s adult, but it doesn’t exclude kids and it doesn’t pander to them. It’s a real accomplishment.

BSR!: Yeah. Filoni and I geeked out for what felt like 20 minutes about Robotech… And my next question is, you’re Todo 360, who is one of the funniest and most fun side characters on the show. And his voice is an effeminate version of your interpretation of Threepio?

SG: Pretty much. I just thought that’s what droids sounded like when I first saw Star Wars. All the droids that don’t make beeps and boops must sound like foppish British dudes. That’s what I went for. And Dave and I joked, “Should I just kind of do like a soft Tony?” And we tried it and it was funny. And because he’s so little we wanted him to be indignant a lot. And because he’s so small, it’s fun to see him get blustery and have a Yosemite Sam quality. He doesn’t get scared. He’s standoffish even though he’s so small.

Come back tomorrow for some nice, juicy pieces about the new Robot Chicken special, and some tantalizing tidbits about their new Star Wars show.

This interview was originally written for Huffington Post.

Before the first issue of American Vampire hit newsstands, I had a chance to talk to its creator, Scott Snyder and bring Huffington Post readers a preview of the book. I had read the first issue of the book, but I had no idea where it was heading. Since that last time, six more issues of the book have been released and the first collection has come out in hardcover this week.

American Vampire has turned out to be one of the smartest and most fun books to read, and it’s one that I look forward to eagerly every month. In fact, the first volume shot to number 1 on the hardcover list of the New York Times Graphic Books list just last week.

To commemorate the release of the first trade in hardcover by Snyder and Stephen King, I had a chance to talk to Snyder again and we spoke about the book and why it would appeal to readers of Huffington Post, even if they might not ordinarily be comic readers.

The book itself offers readers a look at eras through the history of the new strain of American vampires. The first trade takes place in two distinct eras, the wild west (written by King), and the silent film era of the ’20s. (The latest story arc is occurs around the building of the Hoover Dam in Las Vegas during the Depression.)

“For anyone who hasn’t read it yet, the concept is that we try and imagine vampires as these physiological creatures that every once in a while randomly mutate when the bloodline hits someone new from somewhere new. And so there’s this secret genealogical tree to vampirism with all these different species and the classic species we know is the European breed, the pale, anemic, nocturnal, stake-through-the-heart kind, is just one species among many. For reasons that are secret in the series, they become the dominant species, so the series focuses specifically on this new breed of vampire that’s born in the American west in the 1880s and the bloodline mutates and this outlaw named Skinner Sweet becomes infected. He becomes a new kind of vampire with new powers. He has different claws, different fangs, different abilities, different weaknesses. And the general conflict in the series is how all these vampires who came before him don’t know how to kill him and we follow his bloodline through different decades in American history through the lens of vampirism and we explore what, as Americans, makes us heroic and monstrous at different points in history. It also tells kind of a dark, twisted, popcorn story all at once. And the first trade collects the first five issues, my story and Stephen King’s story.”

When asked about why Huffington Post readers would identify with the book, Snyder told me, “Without giving too much of a political opinion through the decades, we try and look at both sides of what makes the American character something to be admired and something to be feared. And we try also to include a healthy dose of history and of cultural information about that time period. We explore it and have fun with it and at the same time to think. One of the things I love about the Huffington Post is that, yeah, it has political inclinations that appeal to me, but on top of that, it’s really good about publishing stories that aren’t entirely from one side and can be contradictory and make you think. And a they have a very healthy dose of humor and entertainment and I’m hoping that we fit relatively well with [Huffington Post readers].”

Having read the book, I can attest to the sense of place and culture the book provides. The last issue I read felt a clever mix between a horror novel and Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath. The Depression is in full swing and we’re treated with a look at one of the few places thriving, the very vampiric city of Las Vegas, and the struggles of a small-town lawman with all the hallmarks of a Tom Joad character.

The issues contained in the first collected edition have the same horror feeling, but as if it was playing out in an F. Scott Fitzgerald novel. This is writing of high literary quality in the pages of a horror comic book.

This is the way vampires should be done. If you’re reading any comic right now, this one might be the most illuminating as far as the American spirit through our recent history is concerned.

In addition to his writing duties on American Vampire, Snyder is also going to be starting as the regular writer on Detective Comics, one of the flagship (and oldest running) titles in the Batman universe. I would advise getting to a comic book store and asking for them to hold you a copy. If you want to learn more about his coming tenure on Batman, be sure to head over to Big Shiny Robot! and read about that portion of the interview there.

You can also listen to our whole conversation by clicking over to iTunes.

And again, you can order the first volume of American Vampire, it’s available now.

Fans of the Iron Man movies, get ready for a ride.

It’s being reported that Jon Favreau, Director of the first two Iron Man movies will not be returning to direct the third – a decision he informed Marvel Studios of this week. It’s unclear if the decision was financial or creative. Unnamed sources are saying that Favreau was frustrated with Marvel wanting to cram so many different characters from the Marvel U into his Iron Man movies, but nothing about this being the reason has been confirmed. But Vulture did offer up this tidbit supporting it:

In a recent interview with MTV News, Favreau explained that based on his conversations with Marvel Studios executives, he had no clarity as to what a third Iron Man film would even be about. “In theory, Iron Man 3 is going to be a sequel or continuation of Thor, Hulk, Captain America and Avengers,” said Favreau at the time, “This whole world … I have no idea what it is. I don’t think they do either, from conversations I’ve had with those guys.”

Eric Goldman over at IGN notes:

However, Vulture says Favreau may have simply been too expensive for Marvel at this point, as they and their parent company, Disney, look to find ways to cut costs – noting that Favreau is said to have made $10 million for Iron Man 2 and would almost certainly get another sizable raise for Iron Man 3 to as much as $15 million, along with receiving 15 percent of the film’s gross after it recouped costs.

Honestly, either reason could be the case, but whatever the reasoning may be, Marvel is on the hunt to find a new director for Iron Man 3.

So, readers, what do you guys think of this news? Do you think Marvel was maybe trying to micromanage the project too much? Could they just not afford Favreau? Who would you like to see replace him? Sound off in the comments below!

Interesting Side-Note: Robert Downey, Jr.’s contract with the Iron Man movies gives him director approval rights.

Entertainment Weekly has an exclusive of the trailer that was shown at the end of the Savage Oppress screenings.

Wow.

That’s really just…

I seriously have tears in my eyes. This trailer was bloody perfect. We get to see Even Piell in action? And someone in carbonite? And more Trandoshans? And some sort of Sith people? And… And… And… And the end… With Ahsoka?

Is that a hint of the dark side? If that’s true, I’ll feel like Padme pleading to Anakin on Mustafar.

Wow.

There’s just…

Just go. Watch it again. Spread the word.

Also, the end of this trailer announces a new timeslot for Clone Wars. Is this earlier than usual? If so, good news. As of now it airs at 10:00 pm in my timezone and that just pisses me off.

The 501st Legion, in conjunction with eFX, has put together an auction benefiting the Make-A-Wish Foundation and it’s the last of their TK-Helmet series.

They’re selling a Stormtrooper helmet replica with the signatures of 17 Star Wars luminaries on it, including the late, great Irvin Kershner.

If you’re interested in bidding, you can do so here on ebay.

There are 9 days left and the bidding is already up to $5,100. If you want to make a charitable contribution of considerable size and get something out of it, this is the time to do it.

The complete list of signatures:

The helmet features signatures from Star Wars creator George Lucas; actors Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, David Prowse, James Earl Jones, Frank Oz, Peter Mayhew, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker, Billy Dee Williams, Jeremy Bulloch and Warwick Davis; Star Wars: Episode IV: A New Hope and Episode V The Empire Strikes Back producer Gary Kurtz, director, the late Irvin Kershner (The Empire Strikes Back); screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan (Empire and Return of the Jedi); and composer John Williams.

Yesterday I treated myself to a little nostalgia and picked up my copy of Super Mario All Stars Wii. Believe it or not, this year is the 25th anniversary of Super Mario Bros. Nintendo has been doing a lot of fun releases this year to celebrate.

Super Mario All Stars originally was released in August of 1993. The game includes four of Mario’s greatest adventures:

Super Mario Bros.
Super Mario Bros. 2
Super Mario Bros. 3
Super Mario Bros. : The Lost Levels

All of these games had been updated to the current technology of 16-bit. This meant reskinned Mario as well as more dynamic backgrounds. Some very small changes were made to the gameplay. For instance in Super Mario Bros., when Super Mario jumps into a brick block he continues moving upward as it’s demolished. In the original game Super Mario would bounce back downward. Another big change is a save feature. These four games had not been offered before with the ability to save your progress.

Super Mario Bros. : The Lost Levels has a particularly interesting back story. It is actually Japan’s version of Super Mario Bros. 2. The game remained very similar to Super Mario’s first outing and was more difficult. The game introduced poison mushrooms and wind gusts to give our favorite plumber a run for his money. Nintendo felt American audiences would be turned off by the similarity and difficulty, so it was never released in U.S. Instead, we got an adapted version of Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic (seen below). This game was watered down a bit as to not be too difficult for us simple minded Americans.

The newly released Wii collection of Super Mario Bros. All Stars is exactly the same as the SNES release. Almost to a fault. I was hoping Nintendo would take the time to make this classic compatible with my widescreen tv, but instead I ended up with two black bars on the left and right of the game. Though I can’t complain too much, this collection only set me back $30. Included in the box set is a booklet containing the history of all of Mario’s main titles, as well as a cd with all of the main themes from Mario’s games and some sound effects (to be easily converted to ringtones in my near future).

All in all I’d say this collection was worth the $30 bucks. And from what I hear they are very limited, so I’d get one now before they disappear.